Qantas orders Airbus planes for ultralong-haul routes: Travel Weekly

Qantas has ordered 12 specially outfitted Airbus A350-1000 aircraft as it finalizes plans to launch flights from Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, to New York and London by late 2025. Those routes would be the world’s longest nonstop flights.

The Qantas Airbus A350-1000s will be equipped with an extra fuel tank to extend the aircraft’s range. They’ll also fly a luxurious configuration of 238 seats, which is fewer than any A350-1000 currently in service, the carrier said.

The order is the latest step in Qantas’s several-year effort to enable nonstop flying from Australia’s east coast to New York and London, which the airline in 2017 dubbed Project Sunrise. In 2019, Qantas flew a total of three Project Sunrise research flights, using Boeing 787 Dreamliners with limited passengers, to gather data about in-flight passenger and crew well-being. Then late that year the airline designated the A350-1000 as its aircraft of choice for those routes. The pandemic, however, delayed orders of the plane for more than two years.

“For more than 100 years, Qantas has been at the forefront of transforming the way the world travels, particularly through direct flights,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said on Monday. “Now, the A350 and Project Sunrise will make almost any city in the world just one flight away from Australia. It’s the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance that has traditionally challenged travel to Australia.”

Qantas will configure the aircraft in a four-class layout, including first class, business, premium economy and economy. Six first-class suites will offer separate beds and recliner lounge chairs. All 52 business-class seats will have aisle access and access to a self-service bar. Forty premium economy seats will offer 40 inches of space between rows, also called pitch, which is two inches more space than is typically offered by U.S. airlines in premium economy. The aircraft’s 140 economy seats will have 33 inches of pitch, more than the standard U.S. carrier offering by one to three inches. 

In addition, Qantas will configure the planes with what it is calling a Wellbeing Zone, which will be available to all passengers. Flyers will be able to use the area to stretch their legs, including doing stretches suggested on a digital display.

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